August 19 – Daily Notes – Amanda

Yesterday we talked about how God can use any gift he’s given us, using Esther’s beauty as an example. Today, in 1 Corinthians, we look at gifts of the Spirit. These are gifts specifically designed to build up the body of Christ. If you haven’t done a Spiritual Gifts Inventory to figure out your specific gifts, here’s one. Take a few minutes to explore the gifts God has given you.

Esther 4:1-7:10:

1-3 – Sackcloth and ashes were signs of mourning.

4-9 – Esther was distressed by Mordecai’s actions and the fact that he was mourning. She still did not know about the decree to destroy the Jews. Mordecai sent the news through Hathach, the eunuch.

11-17 – In order to talk to the king about the decree, Esther had to break the law and risk her life. The king would be well within his rights to have her killed when she approached him.

14 – A powerful statement from Mordecai that Esther may have been put in her unique position for this specific purpose.

10-11 – Haman must have been fuming as he had to honor the man that he was hoping to have killed.

1 Corinthians 12:1-26:

3 – This is to say that the Spirit of God cannot speak against Jesus so if we truly have the Spirit within us, we cannot speak against Jesus.

4-11 – We are all given different gifts from the Spirit and these gifts are intended for the building up of the body of Christ.

12-20 – All our gifts are meant to work together for the good of the group. We shouldn’t feel bad or be jealous that we don’t have certain gifts. Instead we should use our gift to our best ability in order to benefit the whole.

Psalm 36:1-12:

5-9 – These verses explain what all the Lord offers to us. There are vast benefits to loving and serving God. The verses before this, however, profile those who do not honor and love God.